Have you ever caught yourself saying something, just because it was what everybody else was saying? We all swear we won’t become our parents, and then we say things like, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” when, in fact, it does.

There are a lot of things people say about money that simply aren’t true.

These are the sayings that form the basis of our thoughts about money. When our thoughts, feelings, and actions all line up, we experience success. We are able to accomplish anything, be it personal, business, or financial goals. But when what we are thinking isn’t true, the actions that follow can lead to results we never intended. In other words,

What you think about money is just as important as what you do with it!

Our thoughts about money lead to our actions. We spent a lot of time talking about that, this past Saturday on the RichLife Show. The recording of that show will be available a bit later on in the week. Take the time to listen to it. We cover a HIGHLY controversial topic when it comes to our thinking and what we do with our money. But for right now, let’s take a look at a few money myths to help get us on track for a successful financial year.

Money Myth # 1: High Risk Equals High Return

This myth was part of my training as a financial planner, and I’m still hearing it today. We have all been taught to accept that in order to increase our chances of winning, we must increase our chances of losing.

Yet in practice, this means one thing – you will have a greater chance of losing!

It follows that the younger you are, the more risk you can tolerate. You have more earning years ahead of you, and so you are lulled into thinking that it’s okay to be in a losing position, because you can always make it up again. But why should you have to?

Ask yourself: why would you want to increase your chances of losing? You worked hard to earn your money!

When financial institutions invest, they go to great lengths to minimize all risk. They would never operate on the principle that you can make greater profits by increasing your chances of losing. Please allow me to introduce a new principle:

To increase your chances of winning,

you must decrease your chances of losing.

You do this by transferring as much risk to your investments as possible. This principle should be the foundation for all your RichLife investments.

Money Myth #2: The more money I accumulate, the more financially secure I will be

Most people go to a financial planner with one goal in mind — to invest earnings for the greatest returns. Because of this mindset, most financial planners focus mainly on the financial statements – the bottom line of monetary accumulation.

But ask yourself: is that the best goal? Should accumulation be the highest priority?

People rationalize to themselves that they must accumulate in order to be happy. But building a RichLife is about all of our assets – human, physical, and financial – and money only plays one part of that.

Upon closer inspection, most people realizeit’snot having to worry about moneythat truly brings peace and happiness

When you realize this as your bottom line, you can choose investments that accomplish your financial goals without putting them unnecessarily at risk. You won’t go for the “high risk equals high return,” because that won’t bring you peace of mind. If a product that will give you 6% growth over 10 years is enough to do the trick, you won’t get sidetracked, and you won’t take a big hit because you thought a big return was worth the risk.

Money Myth #3: That will never happen to me!

Operating under this premise, we self-insure, deciding to pay for things as they come up.

We tell ourselves, “There is no way we could ever lose our job, become disabled, or, ultimately, die.”

And so we don’t apply the principles of Risk Transfer. We don’t invest in an adequate health insurance plan, we don’t plan for anyone losing their job, and we certainly don’t plan for what will happen in the event of death. Planning may not make life tragedies any less painful, but it will certainly help to make them less stressful.

What do you think about money? Has Life ever caught you by surprise? Help spread the RichLife message by sharing your story. I’d love to hear it!

Beau Henderson is a financial advisor, author, coach, radio personality, and CEO of RichLife Advisors. He has helped over 3,000 clients to not just improve their relationship with money, but to live the life of their dreams. For more tips on how you can apply the principal of wise stewardship to your everyday life, check out Beau’s newest book, "The RichLife - 10 Investments for True Wealth" at http://www.richlifeadvisors.com/.